


Isolated

by LadySilver



Series: Weight of the World [9]
Category: The Tomorrow People (1992)
Genre: Angst, Angst Bingo, Future Fic, Gen, Illness, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-28
Updated: 2014-03-28
Packaged: 2018-01-17 09:32:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1382515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySilver/pseuds/LadySilver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How does one choose between saving the world and saving one's child?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Isolated

Adam could see the struggle on General Damon’s face over the choice he had to make. Damon’s hands were clasped behind his back as he paced from one side of his office to the other, his expression flitting between anguish and resignation. The room was small and feeling smaller by the second, its sparseness of decoration identifying its occupant as a person well-used to picking up and moving on—though Adam knew that that training was the last thing Damon wanted to draw on now.

“He needs to be in hospital,” Adam repeated, fighting his own battle to keep his voice low and his tone even. Yelling would accomplish nothing, as he’d already learned. Adam grasped the edge of Damon’s desk and held on, his body taut and shaking from the stress of the past days that was only bound to get worse.

Damon ran a frustrated hand over the back of his head and down his face, his military bearing cracking. With only Adam in the office, it was a slip he could afford to make. Besides, they both knew that Adam was well aware of Damon’s emotions. “Take him to the island,” Damon decided. “Keep him there.”

“He needs medical attention. Doctors! Drugs!” Adam returned. His hands were white with the force of his grip, tendons standing out in stark relief through his skin. 

“The risk is too great,” Damon countered with a slow shake of his head. “Earth doctors won’t know what they’re dealing with.”

“They might. They could figure it out.”

“What if they don’t? What if he’s contagious? You guys were off-planet. Who knows what he’s sick with? No.” Damon drew a breath and let it out hard, the decision the last one he wanted to make and the only one he could. “Take him to the island.” 

Adam wasn’t the teenager he’d been when he’d first met General Damon, which only made it more difficult to defy him. For the sake of his friend, he gave it one last effort: “He’s going to die if he doesn’t get help.”

 _And everyone could die if he does_ , Adam heard Damon think. _Contain the threat. Stop it from spreading_. “I know,” Damon said out loud. “I know.” He came to a stop, his gaze focusing on some middle-distance that Adam couldn’t see into. “I’ll contact Lisa, explain the situation to her. Maybe she can help.”

“Lisa?” The name hit him in the gut. Adam hadn’t allowed himself to think of Lisa in years, and hearing her name now was a stark reminder of how he had failed before, and how easy it would be to fail again.

“She’s a doctor,” Damon explained.

“And she’s one of us,” Adam added. It was a slim hope, but maybe the only one he had right now. He allowed himself to look at Megabyte for the first time since entering the office. The slender young man was slumped into the chair across from the desk. He was conscious, barely, staring with glassy eyes at nothing. His face burned so red with fever that his ginger hair looked blond by contrast. He’d still been mobile when they arrived, though complaining of a headache. The downward slide was the fastest Adam had ever seen.

“Get him to the island,” Damon repeated, the order coming through clearly in his tone. “I’ll send help as soon as I can.” He was reaching for the phone as he spoke, though he even wasn’t sure whom his first call would be to. “You know I won’t just let him die,” Damon added, now sounding more like a parent than a commander.

Adam sighed, for once relieved that it wasn’t his choice to make: between the care of the world and the care of his son. It was a choice he wouldn’t wish on anyone. He squatted down and lifted one of Megabyte’s arms over his shoulder, the easier to teleport with. The limb was heavy and hot as it flopped into place, a reminder of how bad the situation had become.

“And, Adam?” Damon paused, hand on the receiver. He worked his jaw, steeling himself. The age lines around his mouth and eyes seemed to multiply with the stress, and then they suddenly smoothed out. When Damon spoke next, it was only as a general in the top military in the world. “Don’t come back. Stay put.”

Adam swallowed, the protest he wanted to make stuck behind an understanding of the logic. If Megabyte was sick, Adam could be, too. They’d both gone to the alien world, and they’d hardly been apart since returning. Understanding passed between the two men and Adam nodded in acceptance. “Call Lisa,” he replied. “We don’t have much time left.” Closing his eyes, he summoned the energy to teleport—and vanished. 

The last thought on Damon’s mind, and the loudest on Adam’s, was to wonder what would happen if Lisa came through. And what would happen if she didn’t.

**Author's Note:**

> For angst bingo round 4: _quarantine_. Revised from a draft on Dreamwidth.


End file.
